Radiator in vehicle

ABSTRACT

A radiator in a vehicle may include an inlet header tank for introduction of cooling water, an outlet header tank for discharging the cooling water, a heat exchanger unit having a plurality of tubes connected between opposite insides of the inlet header tank and the outlet header tank and heat dissipation fins for enhancing heat exchange between the cooling water flowing through the tubes and external air, an inlet and an outlet respectively formed substantially at centers of one side of the inlet header tank and one side of the outlet header tank in a height direct, and a filler neck connected to an engine and connected to the inlet by a main hose for introducing the cooling water from the engine to the inlet, and connected to one of the inlet header tank and the outlet header tank by a sub-hose which is separate from the main hose.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority of Korean Patent Application Number 10-2014-0072419 filed on Jun. 13, 2014, the entire contents of which application are incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a radiator in a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a radiator in a vehicle, in which positions of an inlet and an outlet of cooling water to/from an engine are optimized to reduce flow resistance and increase a flow rate thereof for improving a cooling performance.

2. Description of Related Art

In general, a vehicle runs as an combustion of mixed gas of fuel and air in an engine cylinder compressed by a piston is transmitted to driving wheels. An engine which obtains driving force from the combustion is provided with a cooling unit, such as a water jacket, for cooling down heat of the combustion, and a radiator for cooling the cooling water circulated through the water jacket, in turn.

In the radiator having above described function, there are, depending on a cooling type, an air cooling type radiator and a water cooling type radiator, or, depending on a configuration, a cross-flow type radiator and a down-flow type radiator.

The air cooling type is a type cooled by external air and used the most generally, starting from small engines, and the water cooling type is a type used for large sized engines in which the radiator is cooled with the cooling water provided separately.

The cross-flow type and the down-flow type are classified in terms of a flow direction of the cooling water. A related art radiator is provided with an inlet tank for introduction of the cooling water thereto and an outlet tank for discharge of the cooling water provided spaced from each other, and a stack of tubes each connected between the inlet tank and the outlet tank for flow of the cooling water through an inside of the tubes and the external air through an outside of the tubes for cooling down the cooling water.

In this case, the cross-flow type is a type in which the inlet tank and the outlet tank are arranged on left and right sides of the radiator and the tubes are stacked in a horizontal direction for the cooling water to circulate in the horizontal direction for being cooled down by the external air.

And, the down-flow type radiator is a type in which the inlet tank and the outlet tank are arranged on an upper side and a lower side of the radiator, and the tubes which connect the tanks are stacked in a vertical direction for the cooling water to circulate in the vertical direction for being cooled down by the external air.

The radiator having above configuration is arranged in an engine room of the vehicle to face a front of the vehicle for making the cooling water to heat exchange with cold external air introduced thereto during running of the vehicle.

However, the related art radiator has a problem in that, if the cooling water discharged after cooling the engine has bubbles dissolved therein, making the cooling water to flow in a state the cooling water contains the bubbles which have a low heat transfer coefficient, the bubbles occupy a certain volume in a cooling water circulation passage, and make a heat exchange performance of the cooling water poor to reduce cooling efficiency.

Moreover, since the reduced cooling efficiency of the radiator may lead to supply the cooling water to the engine in a state the cooling water is failed to be cooled to a required temperature, making the cooling water to fail to cool down the engine properly, an overall cooling performance of the vehicle may become poor.

The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a radiator in a vehicle having advantages of improving a cooling performance. The present invention is to provide a radiator in a vehicle, in which positions of an inlet and an outlet of cooling water to/from an engine are optimized to reduce flow resistance and a filler neck is provided separately and connected thereto to devise an increased flow rate for improving a cooling performance.

According to various aspects of the present invention, a radiator in a vehicle may include an inlet header tank for introduction of cooling water thereto, an outlet header tank for discharging the cooling water therefrom, a heat exchanger unit having a plurality of tubes connected between opposite insides of the inlet header tank and the outlet header tank and heat dissipation fins for enhancing heat exchange between the cooling water flowing through the tubes and external air, an inlet and an outlet respectively formed substantially at centers of one side of the inlet header tank and one side of the outlet header tank in a height direct, and a filler neck connected to an engine and connected to the inlet by a main hose for introducing the cooling water from the engine to the inlet, and connected to one of the inlet header tank and the outlet header tank by a sub-hose which is separate from the main hose.

The filler neck may separate bubbles from the cooling water introduced thereto from the engine, and introduce the cooling water having the bubbles removed therefrom to the main hose, and a portion of the cooling water containing the bubbles to the sub-hose.

The inlet and the outlet may be arranged substantially on the same line that connects centers of the sides of the inlet header tank and the outlet header tank. The filler neck may be arranged between the engine and the inlet header tank, and separate from the inlet header tank and connect the engine and the inlet header tank for flowing the cooling water. The main hose may have one end connected to a lower side of the filler neck, and the other end connected to the inlet. The sub-hose may have one end connected to one side of an upper side of the filler neck.

The filler neck may be connected to a reserve tank for discharging the bubbles separated from the cooling water within the filler neck to the reserve tank. The filler neck may have an inlet port formed on one side of an upper side for introduction of the cooling water from the engine thereto, an outlet port formed on a lower side thereof and having the main hose connected thereto, a sub-outlet port formed on the other side of the upper side opposite to the inlet port and having the sub-hose connected thereto, and a bubble outlet port formed on one side of an upper end to which a cap is mounted and connected to the reserve tank.

The sub-hose may be connected to a sub-inlet formed in the inlet header tank and at a position spaced upward from the inlet. The sub-hose may be connected to a sub-inlet formed in the outlet header tank and at a position spaced upward from the outlet.

The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary radiator in a vehicle in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of another exemplary radiator in a vehicle in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that present description is not intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Throughout the specification, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. And, a name of a constituent element does not limit a function of the constituent element.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a radiator in a vehicle in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the radiator 10 in a vehicle improves cooling efficiency without capacity increase by optimizing positions of an inlet 15 and an outlet 17 in the radiator 10 of cooling water from an engine 1 to reduce flow resistance and connecting a filler neck 20 which in some embodiments is provided separately in combination with the radiator 10 to devise an increased flow rate.

For this, as shown in FIG. 1, basically, the radiator 10 in a vehicle includes an inlet header tank 11 to which the cooling water is introduced, and an outlet header tank 13 from which the cooling water is discharged, arranged spaced at a predetermined distance from each other.

The radiator 10 also includes a heat exchange unit 18 having a plurality of tubes T arranged at equal or substantially equal distances connected between opposite insides of the inlet header tank 11 and the outlet header tank 13 with heat dissipation fins P provided between adjacent tubes T for making the cooling water flowing through the tubes T to heat exchange with the external air introduced between the adjacent tubes T during running of the vehicle.

In the radiator 10, the inlet header tank 11 has an inlet 15 formed in or substantially in a center of a height of one side thereof and the outlet header tank 13 has an outlet 17 formed in a center of the height of one side thereof. In this case, the inlet 15 and the outlet 17 may be arranged on or substantially on the same line that connects the centers of one sides of the inlet header tank 11 and of the outlet header tank 13.

That is, the radiator 10 increases a flow rate of the cooling water by forming the inlet 15 and the outlet 17 at or substantially at the centers of the inlet header tank 11 and the outlet header tank 13 at which a pressure drop in the inlet header tank 11 and the outlet header tank 13 is favorable in view of the flow rate, and arranging the inlet 15 and the outlet 17 on the same line that has the shortest distance to position the inlet 15 and the outlet 17 at the shortest distance.

In the meantime, in describing the radiator 10 in a vehicle in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention, though the present exemplary embodiment suggests arranging the inlet 15 and the outlet 17 on the same line which connects the centers of one sides of the inlet and outlet header tanks 11 and 13, the radiator 10 in a vehicle in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention is not limited to this, but, with reference to the inlet 15 formed in the inlet header tank 11, the outlet 17 may be formed at the center of one side of the outlet header tank 13 or at a position spaced downward a predetermined distance from the center of one side of the outlet header tank 13.

That is, the outlet 17 may be formed at the center the same with the inlet 15 or between the center and a position spaced downward a predetermined distance from the center. This may be applicably varied with the pressure drop of the radiator 10.

The radiator 10 includes a filler neck 20 connected to the engine 1, connected to the inlet 15 with a main hose 21 for introducing the cooling water from the engine 1 thereto, and connected to a sub-hose 23 which is connected to the filler neck 20 separate from the main hose 27 and connected to one of the inlet header tank 11 and the outlet header tank 13 in parallel with the main hose 21.

In this case, referring to FIG. 1, the radiator 10 may have a sub-hose 23 connected to a sub-inlet 19 spaced upward from the inlet 15 and formed in the inlet header tank 11. That is, the main hose 21 may have one end connected to a lower side of the filler neck 20, and the other end connected to the inlet 15. Along with this, the sub-hose 23 may have one end connected to one side of an upper side of the filler neck 20, and the other end connected to the sub-inlet 19.

In the meantime, in exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the filler neck 20 is provided separately from the inlet header tank 11 to be positioned and connected between the engine 1 and the inlet header tank 11 for flow of the cooling water.

The filler neck 20 may separate bubbles from the cooling water introduced thereto from the engine 1, for introducing the cooling water having the bubbles removed therefrom to the inlet 15 through the main hose 21 and a portion of the cooling water containing the bubbles to the sub-inlet 19 through the sub-hose 23.

In the meantime, the filler neck 20 is connected to a reserve tank 3 for separating the bubbles from the cooling water introduced thereto from the engine 1 thus, and discharging the bubbles separated thus in the filter neck 20 to the reserve tank 3.

In this case, the filler neck 20 has an inlet port 25 formed on one side of an upper side thereof for introduction of the cooling water thereto from the engine 1, and an outlet port 27 formed on a lower side thereof having the main hose 21 connected thereto.

And, the filler neck 20 may have a sub-outlet port 28 formed on the other side of the upper side opposite to the inlet portion 25 to have the sub-hose 23 connected thereto, and a bubble discharge port 29 on one side of the upper side having a cap C mounted thereto connected to the reserve tank 3.

That is, the cooling water discharged from the engine 1 is introduced to the filler neck 20 through the inlet port 25, and has the bubbles separated therefrom, and the cooling water having the bubbles separated therefrom is discharged through the outlet port 27 and introduced to the inlet 15 of the inlet header tank 11 connected thereto with the main hose 21.

And, a portion of the cooling water having the bubbles not completely separated therefrom is discharged through the sub-outlet port 28 and introduced to the sub-inlet 19 formed on the upper side of the inlet 15 in the inlet header tank 11.

The radiator 10 can reduce the flow resistance of the cooling water flowing therein as the inlet 15 and the outlet 17 are arranged on or substantially on the same line with the centers of the inlet header tank 11 and the outlet header tank 13.

Moreover, the radiator 10 can increase an entire pass through flow rate of the cooling water even if a total capacity or a size thereof are not increased, by introducing the cooling water having the bubbles separated therefrom not completely through the sub-hose 23 altogether for increasing the flow rate of the cooling water additionally by utilizing the reduction of the flow resistance.

Along with this, the increased pass through flow rate of the cooling water enables to reduce power consumption of the water pump, to improve fuel consumption of the vehicle, and the cooling efficiency and the cooling performance of the cooling water, thereby enhancing the cooling performance of the engine 1, too.

In the meantime, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a radiator in a vehicle in accordance with various other embodiments of the present invention. That is, referring to FIG. 2, basically, the radiator 100 includes an inlet header tank 111 to which the cooling water is introduced, and an outlet header tank 113 from which the cooling water is discharged, arranged at a predetermined distance from each other.

The radiator 100 also includes a heat exchange unit 118 having a plurality of tubes T arranged at equal or substantially equal distances connected between opposite insides of the inlet header tank 111 and the outlet header tank 113 with heat dissipation fins P provided between adjacent tubes T for making the cooling water flowing through the tubes T to heat exchange with the external air introduced between the adjacent tubes T during running of the vehicle.

In the radiator 100, the inlet header tank 111 has an inlet 115 formed in or substantially in a center of a height of one side thereof and the outlet header tank 113 has an outlet 117 formed in or substantially in a center of the height of one side thereof. In this case, the inlet 115 and the outlet 117 may be arranged on or substantially on the same line that connects the centers of one sides of the inlet header tank 111 and the outlet header tank 113.

That is, the radiator 100 increases a flow rate of the cooling water by forming the inlet 115 and the outlet 117 at the centers of the inlet header tank 111 and the outlet header tank 113 at which a pressure drop in the inlet header tank 111 and the outlet header tank 113 is favorable in view of the flow rate, and arranging the inlet 115 and the outlet 117 on or substantially on the same line that has the shortest distance to position the inlet 115 and the outlet 117 at the shortest distance.

In the meantime, like the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, in describing the radiator 100 in a vehicle in accordance with various other embodiments of the present invention, though the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 suggests arranging the inlet 115 and the outlet 117 on or substantially on the same line which connects the centers of one sides of the inlet and outlet header tanks 111 and 113, the radiator 100 in a vehicle in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention is not limited to this, but with reference to the inlet 115 formed in the inlet header tank 111, the outlet 117 may be formed at the center of one side of the outlet header tank 113 or at a position spaced downward a predetermined distance from the center of one side of the outlet header tank 113.

That is, the outlet 117 may be formed at the center the same with the inlet 115 or between the center and a position spaced downward a predetermined distance from the center. This may be applicably varied with the pressure drop of the radiator 100.

The radiator 100 includes a filler neck 120 connected to the engine 1, connected to the inlet 115 with a main hose 121 for introducing the cooling water from the engine 1 thereto, and connected to a sub-hose 123 which is connected to the filler neck 120 separate from the main hose 127 and connected to one of the inlet header tank 111 and the outlet header tank 113.

Thus, the radiator 100 illustrated in FIG. 2 is similar to or identical to the radiator 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 in view of overall configurations except the position of a sub-inlet 119 to which the sub-hose 123 is connected. That is, in the radiator 100 in a vehicle, the sub-hose 123 may be connected to the sub-inlet 119 formed at a position spaced upward from the outlet 117. Therefore, the sub-hose 123 may have one end connected to one side of an upper side of the filler neck 120, and the other end connected to the sub-inlet 119.

Accordingly, in the radiator 100, the cooling water discharged from the engine 1 is introduced to the filler neck 120 through the inlet port 125 and has the bubbles separated therefrom, and the cooling water having the bubbles separated therefrom is discharged through the outlet port 127 and introduced to the inlet 115 of the inlet header tank 111 connected with the main hose 121.

And, a portion of the cooling water having the bubbles not completely separated therefrom is discharged through the sub-outlet port 128 and introduced to the sub-inlet 119 formed on an upper side of the outlet 117 in the outlet header tank 113.

That is, in the radiator 100, the cooling water containing the bubbles is introduced to the sub-inlet 119 positioned on the upper side of the outlet 117 of the outlet header tank 115 which receives the cooling water to be discharged to the engine 1 for introducing the cooling water containing the bubbles to the engine 1 through the outlet 117, thereby increasing a total pass through flow rate.

Upon application of the radiator 10, 100 in a vehicle in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention, positions of the inlet 15, 115 and the outlet 17, 117 to/from which the cooling water from the engine 1 is respectively in/out can be optimized enabling to minimize the flow resistance, and, at the same time with this, the filler neck 20, 120 which is provided separately is connected to the radiator 10, 100 to devise an increased flow rate of the cooling water, thereby permitting to improve an overall cooling efficiency without increasing a capacity of the radiator 10, 100.

Moreover, the reduced flow resistance of the cooling water reduces power consumption of the water pump enabling to improve vehicle fuel consumption, and, at the same time with this, the overall flow rate increase of the cooling water can improve an engine cooling performance. Along with this, the improvement of the cooling efficiency and performance without increasing the capacity of the radiator 10, 100 can improve utilization of the small engine room and enables easy mounting of the radiator 10, 100 in the engine room.

For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims, the terms “upper” or “lower”, and etc. are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures.

The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A radiator in a vehicle, comprising: an inlet header tank for introduction of cooling water thereto; an outlet header tank for discharging the cooling water therefrom; a heat exchanger unit having a plurality of tubes connected between opposite insides of the inlet header tank and the outlet header tank and heat dissipation fins for enhancing heat exchange between the cooling water flowing through the tubes and external air; an inlet and an outlet respectively formed substantially at centers of one side of the inlet header tank and one side of the outlet header tank in a height direction; and a filler neck connected to an engine and connected to the inlet by a main hose for introducing the cooling water from the engine to the inlet, and connected to one of the inlet header tank and the outlet header tank by a sub-hose which is separate from the main hose.
 2. The radiator in a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the filler neck separates bubbles from the cooling water introduced thereto from the engine, and introduces the cooling water having the bubbles removed therefrom to the main hose and a portion of the cooling water containing the bubbles to the sub-hose.
 3. The radiator in a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the inlet and the outlet are arranged substantially on the same line that connects centers of the sides of the inlet header tank and the outlet header tank.
 4. The radiator in a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the filler neck is arranged between the engine and the inlet header tank, and separate from the inlet header tank and connects the engine and the inlet header tank for flowing the cooling water.
 5. The radiator in a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the main hose has one end connected to a lower side of the filler neck, and the other end connected to the inlet.
 6. The radiator in a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the sub-hose has one end connected to one side of an upper side of the filler neck.
 7. The radiator in a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the filler neck is connected to a reserve tank for discharging the bubbles separated from the cooling water within the filler neck to the reserve tank.
 8. The radiator in a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the filler neck includes: an inlet port formed on one side of an upper side for introduction of the cooling water from the engine thereto; an outlet port formed on a lower side thereof and having the main hose connected thereto; a sub-outlet port formed on the other side of the upper side opposite to the inlet port and having the sub-hose connected thereto; and a bubble outlet port formed on one side of an upper end to which a cap is mounted and connected to the reserve tank.
 9. The radiator in a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the sub-hose is connected to a sub-inlet formed in the inlet header tank and at a position spaced upward from the inlet.
 10. The radiator in a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the sub-hose is connected to a sub-inlet formed in the outlet header tank and at a position spaced upward from the outlet. 